"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
When I found my way home
I wondered in my mind
If all this was worth it, worth my life
But when I heard that song play,
I made up my mind
And how it made my heart sing a song so divine
I try to forget about the constant war
That rages on inside my soul,
But I know that I can't.
I could never forget it all.
But I never could escape that soothing melody.
It feels like I've just found my way,
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the rhythm and chords fill my ears
I know that I should share it,
Share what i have found
Instill the joy that song gives
into your life
Can you hear it playing?
The notes intertwine, and every chord
Has purpose, played in its time
There's no words that could hope
To find this thing explained
So why don't we just listen to the keys and strings?
It feels like I've just found my way,
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the rhythm and chords fill my ears
When your heart is feeling weak
And nothing seems to remedy
The weeping of the piano keys
Is crying for your pain to ease
And in the storms you cannot bear
The chaos swarms and fills the air
There's not a soul to mourn with you
But dissonance is ringing true
I know I've been there before
There's never been a better time to lend your ear
If only I could silence all this noise
then you could hear it... you could hear it...
Clearer than a desert sky
It feels like I've just found my way
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the symphony brings to my ears
The most beautiful sound you can hear
May the music I love fill the years
I wondered in my mind
If all this was worth it, worth my life
But when I heard that song play,
I made up my mind
And how it made my heart sing a song so divine
I try to forget about the constant war
That rages on inside my soul,
But I know that I can't.
I could never forget it all.
But I never could escape that soothing melody.
It feels like I've just found my way,
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the rhythm and chords fill my ears
I know that I should share it,
Share what i have found
Instill the joy that song gives
into your life
Can you hear it playing?
The notes intertwine, and every chord
Has purpose, played in its time
There's no words that could hope
To find this thing explained
So why don't we just listen to the keys and strings?
It feels like I've just found my way,
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the rhythm and chords fill my ears
When your heart is feeling weak
And nothing seems to remedy
The weeping of the piano keys
Is crying for your pain to ease
And in the storms you cannot bear
The chaos swarms and fills the air
There's not a soul to mourn with you
But dissonance is ringing true
I know I've been there before
There's never been a better time to lend your ear
If only I could silence all this noise
then you could hear it... you could hear it...
Clearer than a desert sky
It feels like I've just found my way
In my darkest hour I hear that music play
Suddenly the world and its toil disappear
When the symphony brings to my ears
The most beautiful sound you can hear
May the music I love fill the years
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Went through with the lyric booklet from the Album and fixed all the typos and lyrics :)